Had one or two occasions where the chain has wrenched, jammed & twisted. One or two links are bent to all buggery and need to be removed. Might be narrowing your gear range, or helping you rig up a single-speed emergency scenario - but still preferable to merely having an expensive diamond-framed scooter to get back you to civilisation.

If you're not carrying a spare inner gear cable I'd consider at least an old length of inner gear cable (~10-15cm) cut from the end that normally rests in the shifter mechanism. i.e you still want the moulded stop on the end of it. Threaded through the barrel adjuster on the RD this can be good to also assist you jury-rigging a single speed scenario in the mid cassette range. I'm sure I've found pics or explanations of how to do this in the past.. but my cognitive Google abilities are failing me at the moment for a decent explanation or pic.

- KymStuck in traffic? You ARE traffic.Sick of arguing with idiots on the internet? Well, do I have news for you!

BB toolPedal tool if the hex keys are not part of thatSpare cleats shoe heelsWet and dry sand paper but you might have that all ready in the puncture kitSpare rim tapeSpare valvesBrake padsNitrile glovesSpares for your gas cookers and filtration systems if you have them.Spare air mattress patches and glue Tent patchesSpare tent pegsSpare batteriesSpoke nipplesGreaseCone spanners if required if mentioned spanners are not part of that tool kitChain if you carry such a spareFreehub spawlsJockey wheelNeedle pick tool

Not sure of the type of shoes your using my mine have a tension strap and I carry spares of them as well. When I mentioned cleats and shoe heels that also included the hardware as I thought I should make that clear as well. This is over board but I carry a spare BB and a spare rotor plus outer cable housings for both shifter/brake as well. Because I have disk brakes I also carry spare Avid CPS mount parts. I also carry spare heat shrink to cover cable ends with to stop fraying and prepare spare cables buy using thin Cyanoacrylate glue on the last 12 inches of each cable so you can cut the cables knowing they won't fray.Spare "O" rings for that equipment that uses them.I also carry a few spare zipper pulls.Spare money that is not in your wallet but else where both coins and notes.

If you're not carrying a spare inner gear cable I'd consider at least an old length of inner gear cable (~10-15cm) cut from the end that normally rests in the shifter mechanism. i.e you still want the moulded stop on the end of it. Threaded through the barrel adjuster on the RD this can be good to also assist you jury-rigging a single speed scenario in the mid cassette range. I'm sure I've found pics or explanations of how to do this in the past.. but my cognitive Google abilities are failing me at the moment for a decent explanation or pic.

Thanks for your sharing your advice Kym. Chain tool now in the tool bag. I will be carrying a spare gear and brake cable so should be covered there. I have also fitted new inner and outers, new chain, new brakes (gone to v-brakes), new tyres and new rear cluster. Front wheel is new as is the hub.

If you've got a good bike, you are rather overdoing it i think. Your trip is not that far. Have you figured out yet how much all this weighs?

Do you only clean your chain with a rag. I'd suggest an old toothbrush at least or some sort of brush.

Regarding the chain whip, i took one on my last trip in the territory because someone told me i should. I bought it then wondered about the wisdom of it. It weighed so much. And of course i haven't had to use it. I probably never will either. I wonder if what you've got to break a chain is just as good, and lighter.

If you've got a good bike, you are rather overdoing it i think. Your trip is not that far. Have you figured out yet how much all this weighs?

Do you only clean your chain with a rag. I'd suggest an old toothbrush at least or some sort of brush.

Regarding the chain whip, i took one on my last trip in the territory because someone told me i should. I bought it then wondered about the wisdom of it. It weighed so much. And of course i haven't had to use it. I probably never will either. I wonder if what you've got to break a chain is just as good, and lighter.

Instead of all those spanners, what about just a small shifting spanner. That's what a bike mechanic advised me to take. I bought it for $5 from woolies or something.

Two lots of tape is overkill. Its not that often you need to use it. Last trip i used some gaffa tape to tie up a broken shoe. On a previous trip i when i busted a pannier clip after falling off, i used a cable tie to fix it on and kept it there for the whole journey. Both of these were in outback australia. I don't think i needed anything of the kind on either of my india trips. I've never needed more than one bottle of oil for the chain. Though on my last trip, right near the beginning my gear cables were tight i had an to find some spray from someone. If the bike shop had done this when i took it in for service, that wouldn't have happened - beware of lazy bike mechanics. And beware of forgetful riders. I have to admit that i forgot to check my puncture kit and didn't realise it had no glue in it. When i got my one and only puncture, luckily i had a spare tube. And then that very same evening i met someone who was able to give a tube of rubber cement. I don't know whether that would have worked as so far i haven't had to test it.

I saw all this because i suspect that most people on this forum have much better bikes than i do so if i can do this well with a cheap bike and an even cheaper crummier older bike, then i can't see why you should have any more problems than me through just the usual course of riding. I know that guys can carry a lot more stuff than i can but still why carry more than necessary. If you were going around the world or through africa, then i'd say fine.

Last edited by Meditator on Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

- put your spare tubes in tubigrip compression bandage, then you have something to pull over your bloodied elbow and knee.- a couple of different lengths of velcro strap with fastener ends. great for securing headlight battery packs and snack bags. even ayup packs are prone to coming loose. - get a pump that fits inside your seat post. I use the roadair2. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1yT_04WRv5o/TgFbaGpz8yI/AAAAAAAAAL0/yhu3n4ergP8/s1600/pump+in+seatpost+2.jpg- length of fine wire. comes in handy for securing stuff when screws and nuts are lost. - spare pair of nicks. wearing two pairs at once really helps keep saddle sores away. - saddle cream, or just any old moisturizer applied liberally to crotch.- spare garmin gps computer, because they are so friggin unreliable. - list of water refill spots along the route so you don't have to carry an extra kg the whole way.

Yes Andrew I am more conservative but when I bike tour I aim to not seek help from anyone once I have left and remain self supported the entire time be it small or large tours. Bush walking yes watch the weight but riding bikes your not going to know it's there when in reality a spare parts list will be less than 1.5kg which is nothing in the total weight of all your riding gear.

BB Tool not a must have if you don't plan on taking a spare BB because if a BB goes and no crank puller and no BB your up the creek anyway end of tour until repaired.

Cleats again are over kill but my cleats are nylon and I wear them out on long tours so again this is just a heads up if you need spares but you have addressed it anyway.

Spare valves I carry because I have at time had valve failure and yes you can pinch them from the spare tubes but then the tubes are missing valves and that is a no no in my books.

With the tent pegs I have always found a few spares handy to use around camp and while sticks are fine the pegs are faster and more simpler to use.

With the cone spanners you may only need the inner cone spanner if your bike has cones because your other tools maybe ok for the outer lock nut. Most normal spanners are too thick to hold the inner cone while the outer lock nut is tightened.

With the freehub pawls I have busted a few so carrying a spare set I can fix myself but if you don't know what to do there don't worry not much you can do.

Andrew I carry a "theft wallet" which contains 4 coins and $100.00 in small bills colour copied on a printer both sides which looks like the real McCoy then screwed up to look like well used bills. This trick has saved me once to give me the upper hand while the two thief's got distracted by seeing they had hit gold allowing me to put there lights out.

One other thing Andrew which you more than likely have covered is your spokes for your rear wheel make sure that you have both drive side and non drive side spoke lengths in the spare kit if there a different length.

Meditator wrote:If you've got a good bike, you are rather overdoing it i think. Your trip is not that far. Have you figured out yet how much all this weighs?

Your reference to distance is curious. A distance of 5 km or 5,000 km makes no difference: you can break a chain for example in either distance easy enough. What matters is remoteness and access to services. I am not sure about out of Darwin and Kununurra may have a bike shop but the only other town I pass through that has one before I am within shouting distance of Perth is Broome. Net alone the ability to get help in some remote areas where the traffic can be minimal.

Take a read of GJ Coop's journals and get an idea of what can happen and how one can keep moving if one can jury rig something ...

Do you only clean your chain with a rag. I'd suggest an old toothbrush at least or some sort of brush.

Yep will be just using a rag and no I will not be using a toothbrush. I think I have a pretty good handle on what works in terms of chain cleaning Also and this is an important point is the choice of lube. In my case I am using Squirt on this ride. There is enough informed reviews of the product and the manufacturer's advice to suggest my approach is going to be fine.

Regarding the chain whip, i took one on my last trip in the territory because someone told me i should. I bought it then wondered about the wisdom of it. It weighed so much. And of course i haven't had to use it. I probably never will either. I wonder if what you've got to break a chain is just as good, and lighter.

Not sure about your reference to a chain whip. I haven't mentioned taking one and I don't believe anyone else has either or I missed the reference. Are you referring to the J.A. Stein Mini Cassette Lock? It weighs in at a 31 grams. If you have a smarter solution for removing broken drive side spokes then I am all ears or should that be eyes?

Keep in mind that for one remote section I will have heading out of Tom Price with 20 days of food on board and will at one point load up with five days of water. Being about to deal with the possibility of broken spokes is very important in my book. Irrespective of that particular section I still want to be able to repair a broken drive side spoke where every I am.